Nintendo plays dress up with two new DS Lite bundles, DSi mocks from afar

If you haven't succumbed to the DS Lite's embrace by now, we're not sure this pair of bundles will do the trick, and if you already have a DS Lite in your posse you're probably waiting impatiently for the DSi to traipse on over Stateside. Still, we can't begrudge Nintendo's God-given right to bundle, and this Ice Blue Brain Age set (with custom carrying case!) and Mario Red New Super Mario Bros set (pictured, with emblazoned "M" logo!) aren't exactly unattractive. Both are being released this Friday -- that Friday -- for $150. The Brain Age bundle is pictured after the break.

[balthazar @ Nov 25th 2008 10:35AM]

in one bundle you get a case, and in the other you get... a logo?

[trainwrecka @ Nov 25th 2008 10:44AM]

Brain Age is $19.99 & Mario is $34.99 retail. That is why the Brain Age bundle comes with a case.

[balthazar @ Nov 25th 2008 10:46AM]

good point. researching the products, ftw.

[yui @ Nov 25th 2008 10:38AM]

While DSi is expected to be release sooner worldwide, I really can't understand why should I spend money on this "new" product?!
Bring us DSi asap! thanks.

[Tes @ Nov 25th 2008 10:49AM]

Classic Engadget. Throw scorn on Nintendo when the DSi is announced as it's not all you wanted it to be...decide the new features aren't worth your time...then bitch and moan that it's not available to you. It's either a waste of your time or it's hotly anticipated...which is it?

[novel @ Nov 25th 2008 10:55AM]

aww did they hurt nintendo's feeeelings

[AVG @ Nov 25th 2008 10:51AM]

The DSi's battery life is a total dealbreaker right now, anyway. Until it releases and a third party offers a massively extended battery pack, the Lite is still the superior option.

[ZaxCG2 @ Nov 25th 2008 11:29AM]

Yup... that and no flash cart/Supercard/M3/what have you support really makes it less enticing. I'm hoping they start dropping the Lite's price down near the DSi's release so I can be rid of my DS Phat once and for all.

The only thing is I'm afraid of missing out on new DSi only titles and DSiWare.

[iofthestorm @ Nov 25th 2008 1:31PM]

Actually, it has five brightness settings compared to 4 on the Lite, and better Wifi and more RAM and possibly a faster processor (for the image/video editing) so the battery life isn't that bad when you think about it. I think at comparable brightness to the Lite the battery life is almost the same.

[john @ Nov 25th 2008 2:01PM]

ever herd or psp 2000?

[AVG @ Nov 25th 2008 10:15PM]

@iofthestorm

Fuck all that. I will be playing the same games (outside of the assuredly SCANT DSi onlies that may release) for a shorter time before the battery dies. That's the base of it.

[jdmbo1 @ Nov 25th 2008 10:53AM]

Once again, Nintendo is trying to milk the DS for all it's worth before they release the DSi. I wonder how many parents will pick this up for Christmas, then shit a brick when their kid asks for the DSi a few months later.

[trainwrecka @ Nov 25th 2008 11:02AM]

In the business world we call that making money.

[jdmbo1 @ Nov 25th 2008 11:33AM]

It's also called fucking over the consumer, although yours sounds more pleasant.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Nov 25th 2008 12:28PM]

> Nintendo is trying to milk the DS ... when their kid asks for the DSi a few months later.

Uhm... And with plain DS Lite they would ask R4 "a few month later".

If you buy DS for kids to play games on, then it doesn't really matter whether you buy DS or DSi.

Because otherwise you sound like somebody who never even buys anything, since something better/improved is always released "a few months later".

[jdmbo1 @ Nov 25th 2008 1:01PM]

But there's no real improvement. Nintendo has been releasing a newly colored DS every couple of months with special bundles etc. If they put more money into creating a new hand held, we wouldn't be reading about an DSi, we would be waiting for a next gen DS 2. Also, if the new DSi comes with a camera, and developers start making use of it, it will affect what games can be played on the old DS. This is just Nintendo doing what they do best, milk their product line with stupid special editions, and iterations of the same console, even weeks/months before a new one comes out. Just give me a next gen DS already, not more iterations.

[trainwrecka @ Nov 25th 2008 4:00PM]

Tell the millions upon millions of people that keep buying the DS to stop, and then tell the developers to stop making good games on the system. That is the only way a new DS is going to come out anytime soon.

If it ain't broke - don't fix it.

That being said, I sold my DS in July 2007. The casual gaming I do can be done on my iPhone now. Still have my Wii though!

[E. Leigh @ Nov 25th 2008 10:56AM]

I am guessing these are the bundled iterations of what Europe already has seen in terms of colors.

So my question, where's the green one?!? :(

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Nov 25th 2008 12:32PM]

We have green in Europe and IMHO it looks terrible. On pictures and promo materials apparently they make it look better with good lighting (or prob PhotoShop).

US has the Cobalt Blue and Crimson Red DSs which I'd say look much much better.

[Jeff @ Nov 25th 2008 10:56AM]

Hmm... The logo, which you, the player, would only see when your DS wasn't being used, would appear to be a W to anyone actually seeing you play. Not the best placement if you ask me. Even Apple realized they should flip their laptop logos.

[drsnacks @ Nov 25th 2008 11:11AM]

it was an evil trick by wario

[3dpenguin @ Nov 25th 2008 11:06AM]

I own two DS's already, a original and a DS Lite, I'm not going to be spending anymore money on DS's until the DSi comes out, I'm sorry but I can put stickers on my existing ones and buy cases all day long at a much cheaper price.

[Magallanes @ Nov 25th 2008 11:07AM]

Be careful, the DSi currently is not accepting neither is compatible with flash card.

thumb down.

[CubeGuy @ Nov 25th 2008 12:02PM]

So America finally gets the Ice Blue that Japan has had from the start?

[Demo @ Nov 25th 2008 12:23PM]

The gold DS Lite with the Triforce on it has been the coolest one released yet, but that Mario one is a close second.

[Dubb @ Nov 25th 2008 12:42PM]

Can anyone tell me if they've had problems with their current DS Lites? In particular the hinge area where the two green lights are. I'm about to be on my third DS because of this issue. The little plastic sheet hold up the hinges always cracks, then shortly after that the whole hinge on the right side falls off.

Now Nintendo replaced the first one for free, even though the hinges (specifically) are not covered under the warranty. I wonder why the hinges are covered by the warranty? Now they want me to pay for repairs, which is something like $45 dollars. 1/3rd the price of the entire system to fix the hinge? On top of that I have to pay shipping to their repair center. If this keeps happening I'll wind up paying double, the base system price, and the 3-4 repairs after that.

[iofthestorm @ Nov 25th 2008 1:35PM]

The hinge thing was apparently common with the early DS Lites. My October 2006 DS Lite just developed a crack around a month ago so I'm just hanging on to it till the DSi comes stateside. As long as nothing more cracks I should be fine.

[Dubb @ Nov 25th 2008 12:45PM]

"I wonder why the hinges areN'T covered by the warranty?"

Sorry, can't edit it.

[bangladeshiluv @ Nov 25th 2008 1:02PM]

we dont need a new color!

WE NEED BETTER GAMES!!!!

[Falcom @ Nov 25th 2008 1:50PM]

my favorite game is called R4 revolution.

[Alex @ Nov 25th 2008 2:20PM]

My favourite is Professor Layton and the Curious Village, only just released in the UK, available for months in the US.

[mugwai @ Nov 25th 2008 1:45PM]

Well this just shows that the DSi won't be hitting the NA territory until late next year :(

[Charlie @ Nov 25th 2008 8:52PM]

So I've been reading about the Mario ds bundle for a few weeks now, and was not excited to wake up at 4am to get to the stores.. but I saw four of them at Best Buy today and snatched one! I'm betting it was a mistake on their part to put it out. They've been known to do that before... I specifically remember them doing that with Mario Galaxy!

[Angel Rainn @ Nov 26th 2008 9:13AM]

I used to enjoy all kinds of computer games and tried a lot of them. Of course due to my talent to get bored very quickly I never finished them. So, after a while instead of playing them I started to keep myself informed on news, latest games publishings and all the stuff related to games. Now I can find all the games news and reviews on http://www.PCDistrict.com.

[PigVenus @ Nov 26th 2008 4:23PM]

My favorite "game" is DSReader. Yep, reading ebooks fully justifies the cost (to me) of the DS. It's more convenient (less bulky) and I can several books on the go. Plus the added bonus of reading at night and not having to get up to turn the light off.

[KHADIJA @ Dec 28th 2008 9:41AM]

SUM SICK GAMESS MAN I WANT DA BLUUUEE 1 M8 SEXIIII LOOK SIKK I AM GETIN DA BLUEE THROW MA BALCK 1 XXXXX